


karma police, arrest this man

by harvsgotwhiz



Category: This is England - All Media Types, This is England 86
Genre: Bromance, Harvey x Gadget Bromance, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 04:26:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7876348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harvsgotwhiz/pseuds/harvsgotwhiz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was sad and Harvey and Gadget always make me laugh, so I decided to do a short-ish fix about their friendship pre-TIE '86.</p>
            </blockquote>





	karma police, arrest this man

Harvey hadn't been a part of such a loving group before, or such a weirdly diverse group, for that matter. They had once been skinheads, but they were now more like a group of misfits looking for like-minded individuals to call a family, since their own families were either fucked up, broken or simply the complete opposite of them in every way. Harvey was one of the members who had a fucked up family and nowhere else to run, especially since he'd been driven out of those skinny tie wearing Mods he'd once hung around town with. He was also one of the few members to have suffered abuse, or at least, as far as he knew, he was one of the rare few. 

His father wasn't just a drunk, he was a drunk with a genetically ingrained temper that, unfortunately for this young man, had been passed down to the next generation. Harvey's temper could flip on a dime, just as easily as his dad's did, even without any alcohol or any other catalyst to set him off. It was how he'd got into fights at school, it's why he'd come home some Saturday nights with a bloody nose and grazed knuckles and why, sometimes, he'd take his aggression out on others, generally. He didn't mean to do most of those things, they just sort of happened whenever Harvey saw red. It was like an out of body experience or something else he couldn't explain all too well.

Meanwhile, he'd been going home every evening to find an aggressive bulldog of a man waiting for him, while his mother and sister were either out or in bed. His father was always waiting for him, ready to pounce on the young man, and it always started the same way, too. Harvey would either be sat on the sofa, watching the television or would just be coming back into the house after an eventful day out with his mates and his father would appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and start his usual bollocks; calling Harvey names, slapping him about the face, calling his entire existence a disgrace... And then, then, he'd get frustrated with the way Harvey would just sit (or stand) there and take the verbal abuse and launch into a real fit of rage, throwing his beer can away so that he could grab at Harvey's collar, hold him up and start on the real beatings.

He had been beaten so many times, now, by his father that Harvey found himself going numb whenever the purely violent moment arose and, recently, he'd just stopped fighting back, because there was honestly no point doing that anymore. As much as he'd try to block the punches, or throw a few back, he knew that his father would keep going, harder and with more speed, no matter what, so he'd end up with bruises and scars on his face anyway... And last night was no different, as his cheek was already purple and the cut in his lip was only now beginning to heal after the most recent attack - a full day later.

Putting a cigarette between his teeth, he scraped his foot against the wall of the Miner's club, sniffed, hard, then sparked up his cig, taking in a good, long, deep inhale. It was just as he exhaled that Gadget appeared from around the corner, a face made of anxiety and concern.

"There you are!" Cried the shorter, pudgier lad as he spotted Harvey's taller, more slender frame leaning against the wall. "What you doin' out 'ere, on your own, mate? Everyone's lookin' for ya."

Harvey raised his eyebrows, shrugged and pushed out his injured lower lip. He didn't really know why he was out here, alone, he supposed it was to be alone with his thoughts for a bit. His mardy, bruised, face wasn't exactly the best thing to have around a group full of cheer and laughter.

"I just wanted some fresh air, boss." He stated simply, after a brief pause to think about his answer, taking a slightly shorter toke on his fag. "Nowt wrong wit' that is there, man?"

"No," Gadget replied, "but it's just the way you got up and left without sayin' owt... We got worried about ya." He said, his face looking rather sheepish. 

Harvey brought up a small smile and huffed out a laugh. He knew what Gadget meant by that last sentence; that he had gotten worried about him and followed him, like a stray dog, out here to check on him. As much as he appreciated the sentiment, Harvey couldn't help but be amused by it.

"Well I'm fine, mate, yeah?" He told the younger boy, giving him his best fake happy grin. "I was just after a bit of quiet and, like I told yas, fresh air an' that."

"You sure, man? It's just you've been right quiet all day and with your face and that, I..." Gadget trailed off, which indicated to his friend that he might have said something that would have angered him somehow.

"You what?" Harvey asked, frowning a little bit.

"I'm worried about ya, mate... That's all." Gadget told him, sighing and shaking his head. "I mean... How did ya get that on your face, anyway? Did ya get into a fight on your way 'ome or summat?"

Harvey clenched his jaw, flicked ash and looked down at the floor. Why did Gadget have to be the one to come looking for him? Why did he insist on playing twenty questions whenever Harv's face was painted a mixture of black, blue and purple by his father? If it had been anyone else, literally anyone else from the gang, they would have accepted Harvey's lie and fake grin, left the subject alone and encouraged him to come back inside for a fresh pint. It would be easier to forget about the incident that way, at least, until he'd have to deal with it again later or within the week.

"Look, if I tell ya, will you stop with the fuckin' questions and just leave it alone?" He said eventually, his aggression already bubbling up to the back of his throat like vomit.

"... Yeah, okay." Gadget mumbled, nodding.

"Right, okay..." Harvey cleared his throat and glanced back up at his friend. "I didn't get into a fight with anyone." He paused to take a desperate suck of his cigarette. 

"It... It's me dad, mate. He did this to me face, and I didn't fight back this time because he could've made it a lot worse... A lot fuckin' worse, boss. Trust me, ya didn't wanna see me six month ago, it was like summat out of a Hammer horror." He added a laugh, just to break the uncomfortable tension he'd created by admitting to Gadget what was really on his mind and what had really happened to him.

From Gadget's body language, though, Harvey could tell that he'd caused a newfound sense of anxiety in his friend and he immediately felt guilty. He didn't have to know anything, but now that he did, he'd become more concerned about Harvey than he had been a few moments ago.

"Y'dad's been 'ittin' ya?" Gadget said eventually, frowning and chewing nervously at the inside of his cheek.

"Yup." Harvey said simply, biting at his lower lip, causing the cut to reopen and the metallic taste of blood to slowly seep into his mouth and flicking ash.

"How, how long's it been goin' on for?" Gadget asked, probably just curious.  
Harvey sniffed, hard. "As far back as I can remember, boss."

"Does he, does he hurt your sister, or your mum?" Yet another question from Gadget.

"No, he wouldn't dare hurt Jess, man... And he stopped hurtin' me mam after I punched him for tryin' to hit her... Now he just shouts at 'er an' that." Harvey paused. "He just hits me. He fuckin' hates me, man."

He could already feel the tears welling up, he wanted to cry, he really fucking did, and seeing Gadget's sad, sheepish, teary-eyed face really didn't help. He had never told anyone in the group before, except for maybe Shaun, who had made a swift exit from the group a few months ago and hadn't returned, and Woody, who had come round Harvey's to pick him up for a game of footie with the lads on his way to Milky's one day and seen Harvey's father giving the lad a beat down. 

Both times it had felt like he was forced to talk to them about it; with Shaun, it was to apologise for bullying him while at school and to explain why he'd taken it upon himself to become a bully in the first place while with Woody, it was because of the scene he'd witnessed and Harvey had to explain his situation. This time though, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and the admission had made him feel better, somehow.

Harvey closed his eyes, sniffed again and shook his head, fighting the urge to just break down and cry in front of Gadget. He put the cigarette between his teeth, sucked and then exhaled through his nose, trying to concentrate on anything but his emotions. 

"Shit." He snapped, spitting onto the floor.

"It's alright, mate," Gadget assured him, offering him a kind smile - the type of smile Harvey had only ever seen two or three times in his entire life. "It's okay, we'll just not talk about it anymore, if you don't want to... I'll stay out here with ya for a bit and then we'll go back in and get ya a pint, yeah?"

Harvey looked up at Gadget, managed a smile and nodded. "Yeah." 

"Give us a toke on that, mate, I left my fags inside." Whinged the younger boy, eyeing Harvey's cigarette.

"Go on, then. 'Ere ya are, boss, have what's left of it, I'll spark up a fresh one." Harvey chuckled, shaking his head as he handed the last third of his cigarette to his friend with one hand and pulling out it's original box out of jacket pocket with the other.

"Ta," Gadget muttered, taking the lit cigarette and sucking at the end of it.

"No worries, boss." Harvey mumbled, pulling out a fresh cigarette out of the pack and sparking up.

There the two of them stood, smoking in the cold, leaning against the wall of the club in an oddly comfortable silence for a while. It allowed Harvey to rebuild his composure and allowed Gadget to stay close to his friend without getting an anxiety attack due to worrying about him.

"Gadge?" Harvey said after a bit, flicking his cigarette dimp away.

"Yeah, mate?" Replied Gadget, doing the same with his own cigarette.

"Thanks for staying' out 'ere wit' me, man." Mumbled the older boy, pushing himself off the wall and shoving his hands into his pockets. "And... And for listenin'. I appreciate it, boss."

"It's alright, man, it's what mates are for, i'n't it?" Gadget said with a smile.

"I s'pose, yeah." Harvey laughed, nodding some. "Come on then, let's go back inside, it's fuckin' freezin' out here, man. Plus, you promised us a pint." He added, a wide grin appearing across his bruised face as he headed back towards the main entrance of the club, using his head to encourage Gadget to follow him inside.


End file.
